


Calm before the storm

by Green_T



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 13:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21458710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Green_T/pseuds/Green_T
Summary: Leviathan And Shado from Sara sp's shadow people AU interact and bond and share pain comfort and fluff. all platonic of course. they bros
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	1. Calm

“Creeper!”

… “aw man.”

“So we back in the-THUMP!”

He has to withhold a snarky laugh when wiping his head back to witness Shadoc tumble off the log he had been sitting on moments before. The two were having a bit of a pow wow out in hermitvill, one of the places on the server with little redstone but lots of things to look at. 

“what are you staring at hotshot! You fell out the portal when we got here.” Snark! Proof of confidence right there.

“On purpose of course.” no need to lie right

“On purpose.” he murmured “of course.”

He only smiled as he detached himself from the side of a frighteningly large plant and slid down the side to stand next to the embarrassed shadow. They sat for a long time. Trying not to disrupt the peace, he could get his mirror to join in for songs now and help tie his hair up in all sorts of styles, he could barely step near him before without a nervous glance and a shuffle away

Their friendship has improved after he convinced him that he wasn't there to replace him> He was so confused at first with this shadow that shook where he stands tall, who stepped away where he would move forward. How could someone like Doc end up with a shadow so unlike himself, while he was so off the walls awesome and similar in his feral attitude. 

…

He found out of course

“You… You dont know?...”

He held back a snarl deep in the bowls of his black heart. That was not a good day least be told. Not because of anything he did, killing Doc in such an ironic way was incredibly satisfying. A simple bed bud switch that he doesn't remember how he learned to create and a multitude of deathtraps. It was horrible because he had to watch this meek companion he had grown attached to come apart at the seams with confusion and grief.

“I have made mistakes… I have made mistakes, I continue to make them.”

“The promises ive made, the promises ive made i continue to break them”

Shadow looks up at him confused at the new choice of song and huffs with a smile, A vine nearby curls toward the sound.

“All the doubts I face, all the doubts I face i continue to face them.”

He sings for what seems like ages but he knows this song isn't long. He has sung it many times as he builds oh so alone and isolated. He knew one day he would sing this surrounded with the ones he cared about. But right now just this one mattered. His brother a mirror into a dreary life that he can't help but sing and trip and smile and snark. He hopes he can see him smile calm and content and safe a thousand more times and a thousand after that.

“That one was different. I like it.”

“Thought you would.”

He would fully admit this leviathan was a big softy. He grabbed the vine that had slowly sunk its way down to him and used it to pull himself up. He tied his hair back again as his metal arm scraped against itself in movement. He had other plans today that he wouldn't involve Shadoc. His lodging had too much redstone for them to hang around together there. He did need to work on his traps though. Grians pigeon boy had stopped by not a week ago to try and rope him in like he was some sheep that merino would herd away for slaughter. His first trap had done his job in getting the brat away but it would never work a second time

“I'm not a fan of puppeteers!”

SLAM the trap snapped shut on the foul biscuit with wings, there was a hole at the bottom that lead put thousands of blocks away, he couldn't kill him with is because of the wings so may as well make him walk

…

Flip clack, flip clack, flip CRUNCH! The stick explodes in a sputter of splinters splattering superfishously against his skin. The crush trap worked perfectly. Dropping any victim into a 1x1 pitfall and then the sides open and smash shut. Lava at the bottom for any hermit intruders. If the pigeon showed up again one activation will leave him plummeting and if he opens his wings they will get crushed… should work theoretically.

His claws clack and click against the hardened floors of his newest base, he moves frequently since he runs out of room or places to expand quickly. His home a labyrinth of thin halls and tunnels winding in and out of a hill with paths outside full of broken down machines for study. There's a jukebox in all the major rooms. He likes this base a lot. All the insides are full of nooks and small areas of water that he can slip through. He made it to keep most hermits out but to allow him to still get people in and out on his terms, All wide areas are cut off with doors with blocks missing from the middle so a skilled flier or shadow can slip by without access. His labyrinth was fit enough for a basilisk.

He settled himself into his living area. He doesn't sleep but he has a few weighted blankets thrown around for when shadoc used to come see him here you.. You don't know? He shook his head around, no need to keep looking back to that. They would run and hide away to enjoy each others company away from the very explosive redstone through the rest of his base..


	2. Building

He sighed at the bland bricks around the room, he may be a master trap builder but his decorative skills were very weak. There were a few weapons and chargers he had stolen from Doc and a few sheets of music that Solo had given him and Clamour and a painting of a creeper peeking over a dune. Shadoc never said anything about it though so he must have done something right or so horribly wrong.

‘Where is Shadoc?’ He sat up where he was and thought for a moment. Shadoc and him had parted ways in hermanville but it was more of him just leaving the underdeveloped monument to a place he never knew. Shadoc told him all about places on the old server and how the old hermitville had houses reaching to the sky and a plant similar to the one there now, he said the other plant was way bigger and cooler though… Back on track! Whenever he and Shad hung out he would always leave first while his mirror would just continue to sit there as if for the end of time. Thinking on it he didn’t actually know where Shadoc stayed. Puzzler made his infernal home in a sprawling city that seemed to rise from the ground from nowhere with one entrance and an expansive maze built to confuse. Tripwire and Red stayed with him, he was starting to suspect they were his lackeys. Joyfull stayed with joe in small camps. Nobody could miss the volcano the hoarders had made in a day and filled with riches. Clamour lived on a cliff and solo made camps near every residence of more than one shadow.

But he has no clue where to find his… Brother, for all intents and purposes he had no way to find him if something went wrong. With that goth disaster threatening people for loyalty he should really find out where he stayed. Since he never spoke about it he should probably ask him next time he sees him.

…

“Freedom la la la la freedom follow me, Freedom la la la la freedom follow me. Cut it!”

He hummed and air guitared as he walked along the gravel streets of spawn, It had a very open feeling with a few stater homes scattered with a few humble shops. The shopping district was in the distance with a lot more buildings and foot traffic. He and his brother in origin decided to meet up and head to day care. He wasn't fond of daycare at first, it seemed childish with all the blankets and shadows choosing to sleep.

Another reason he was so stunned when shadoc brought a shadow with a pair of chords and one with a guitar, Clamour and Solo. Solo had played don’t mine at night somehow and he couldn't help but run up with him and join cause how could he not? Its a bop. Clamour proved his mettle with one hell of a chorus.

They were good friends of his now and he actually enjoyed spending time at the daycare with Shadoc and them now. The other hated when Clamour was there but they wouldn't have to worry about this time. It was just him and Shad, he needed to ask about his base.

“Heya my clumsy companion.” He swung himself into a curtsy when he created his opposite.

“SHArk- ha hey Levia-nathan” Shadoc looked at him with mirth while he pushed himself off the side of the light shop

“Levia-tha-niel Levia-nathan what's next a Levi-O-Sa joke? Im wounded”

“A what?” Shadoc and I walked down towards a dock that lead to a very small rock and wooden castle with ice creeping up the sides. His mirror always looked at it kinda funny like he had deja vu. He didn't bother to ask he had other questions.

“Hey, Where is your base? I know where most of the season 7 shadows live but i’ve known you better then even all of them and i have no idea where to find you other then running into you?”

He watched for a reaction from the corner of his eye as he clinked down the dock, he did not see the response he was hoping for. No realisation, embarrassment, or goofy smile. Justa deer in the headlights expression that made him want to keel over or shred whatever put such a vulnerable look on his face. But that would be him.

“Uuuuuhhhhhhm hmmm, I-I live s-somewhere?...”

He stops and flips on him and steps in front of him. This is no longer a conversation for daycare. Shadoc stumbles to a stop and his scarred arms twitch as he shifts backwards on one leg and holds his arms slightly in front of himself… He has to be careful about this, or he’ll run. He straightened himself out from his hunch so he looks less predatory and relaxes where he stands across from his mirror.

“Thats bull-shit and we both knew it the moment you said it.” He was worried now… Did.. did he not make a place? Why wouldn't he?

“...”

“Shadoc… It’s alright if you don't want to tell me why but at least tell me you have a place? Even for a shadow not having a safe place can be very risky… Your not normally risky.”

“I- I stay with solo sometimes? O-or joe or cleo”

“Solo lives in a tent.. That works for him because he stay near everyone's bases and joe is constantly exploring and camping out in shacks.. Cloe lives on a goddamn boat! Have you never thought to make your own place for you?’

“I tried once. It didn't go well… I'm no good at building and jigsaw had it out for me at the time. I haven't tried since” Shadoc had calmed down after he saw the worry on his face and realised there was no hostility.

“Rain check. No daycare today we have a place to build”

…

Leaves and vines draped down from rock and moss, a giant maw of a great beast stood forever preserved in stone. Two black wisps skirted around it from all sides to rise and leave material only to slip away again. Piles of lanterns, fences and item frames laid around and sun bounced off the latches of chests and water steaming through the dense woods.

A leaf drifted down onto the stone reptile and a shadow slunk up and brushed it away while setting a lantern into the socket of the skull where a wooden floor could be seen held up like rafters. The other wisp seems sluggish and tired. Like he was missing something.

Leviathan had swept past and asked clamour what would go good with a giant homey stone skull. He had pointed him in the direction of an older shadows house. Russy he thinks he was called? He looked at how the house was built before getting an idea and racing 2d all the way to his base to get material and go back to where Shadoc was clearing space.

The two of them had spent days isolated in the jungle building a skeleton of some sort of dragon and filling it with wooden floors a fireplace coming out one eye and a bedroom full of comfy stuff and carpets in the other eye while down the ribs there was room for storage and a small open bungalow with shelves and beds under one wing that was full of parrots and cats they had tamed while building. Shadoc liked them and he thought the cats were awesome.

“Thanks… I don't think I ever would have done this at all on my own.”

He smiled for next to him was a sun 

“Of course, I haven't built anything like this before but it feels right. I care about you too much to let you wander the world with no place to come back to. No home. Ya know?’

“Yeah. I've had a home for a long time though. It just moves and sings obnoxiously a lot. Ya know?’ his mirror smiles brightly with a yawn of a sleepless creature.

...


	3. Brewing

“Hey Doc Monster. We gotta talk.” he grabbed his Summoner by the back of his lab coat and spun him around. Doc already looked worried, good him being here should never mean anything good. It's been a few weeks since he helped Shadoc set up a base and he had a bone to pick.

“Did something bad happen?”

“Nah it’s what didn't happen. Why in the gods above did Shadoc not have a base? Why didn't you help him make one if he didn't do it himself!!” he started to glare and held back his snarls of built up anger and frustration at this being before him.

“His last one blew-” he got stopped when he got slammed into the wall

“Im damn well aware of that one! I wanna know why there wasn't one after that!!” 

“It wasn't my place to!” Doc was getting frustrated with this. He had no place in his shadows life at the time

“Then whose place was it? Who was there that helped make him safe? Murmur? The only shadow who knew and spoke with him? The shadow that was attached to his summoner 24/7 and constantly surrounded by redstone! The one shadow he knew and the one shadow who could do nothing to help him”

Doc did not respond just stared down at his feet while the ravenous beast in front of him snarled and snapped at him. Pulling at his perception of his responsibility. Since the day he was summoned only acting as a reminder of his failings.

I stared into him and knew he had no answers. Couldn't understand that just because he FELT it wasn't his place that it meant he had no reason to. That it wasn't what he should do. The bastard.

He dropped his victim of circumstance and clenched all his claws leaving scrapes along the quartz floors of the guardian farm as he stalked out, he couldn't change what happened here. He needed to do this himself.

…

He walked along the coast towards the hills that housed his base, he lived fairly far away from spawn so he would have room to spread out and make more traps

“Who do you think you are! Tear your soul apart, where did you think you could go, cause everyone already knows. Its twenty to one so you better run!”

“Cause you got the world on its knees, you’ve taken all that you need, you want more?! I'll show you nothin’ from me, your like a burden to bear you are the hate that we share, you want more?! I'll show you nothin’ from me”

“Enemies... Enemies.”

The temperature dropped and the world grew darker… Night wasn't another few hours- A hand was on his shoulder. He stopped walking and locked up. The hands were smooth so it wasn't Shadoc or Doc. They strummed and he felt something wisp against his neck He spun on them with a sneer on his face ready to lash out at the strange.

He froze

“You have quite the personality.” The thing smiled mouth to wide to many teeth for a normal person. It looked like that blond purple eyed hermit if he was dunked in a black hole and clawed its way back out with spite. It walked back toward him and set his hand back on his shoulder. 

He was frozen, his legs wouldn't tense and he couldn't even twitch his tail. Only move his eyes to follow this thing in front of him. He looked at its shining yellow white eyes and it feral smile. It reminded him of his and shadocs smiles stretched to their robotics limits. It was comforting but so so wrong on this unsplit black light devouring face.

“I won't tear you to bits dont gotta look at me like that kiddos. Your too small and cute like a feisty kitten.”

He squealed in indignation as his body allowed him to move again. He stood on end of himself 

“Im no cat.”

“True, you are a Monster. Feral and beastly. You intimidate those stronger than you and tease and play with those weaker than you. You aren't nearly strong enough to butt heads with the people you mess with thou, no?”

He was right of course. He couldn't even beat Shadoc in a fight if he had to let alone all the other older shadows with more time deaths and metel to them… More experience.

“I’ll cut this short. Im everything and nothing. A beginning to everything you have ever known and an end to everything that would have been. I know you have meet the fuckwit bird who thinks he’s tough shit. I also know you dropped his feathery ass down a hole. I want your help to do that but more deadly.”

He felt a rage not his own seep into the air and into him. He definitely remember the brat who thought it was good to three people to do what he wanted and to be arrogant enough to TH- that's not him. Somethinmgs very wrong with this Void before him. To be familiar and to push these thoughts and feelings on him. A danger for sure, to be respected. But NOT to be followed.

“I’m good, im a monster not a puppet. As you said”

“Hmmm. You would be strong enough to protect your friends though? Ever a Monster but your incredibly weak.”

“Shadoc is a Fucking powerhouse, if he wanted to he could kill every hermit on the server and blow up half of spawn if he needed to. He doesn't need me to protect him from hermits and shadows. I only protect his ability to grow as a person and be himself.”

The shadow laughed deep at that like it was some kind of inside joke only he knew and smirked to himself.

“Yet you build him a base and protect him anyway.”

The abyss smiled wider at him, he knew he had him.

“He is capable and I want to help him grow, i don't need to be strong to do that.”

“Okay, you do you for now but you will see how things change.”

The hand was pulled away and the true monster turned away and cackled to himself

“You have quite the set of pipes to yourself as well Leviathan. Nice song”

His being flattened out and seemed to disappear into the night… it was night?! How long had he been frozen still staring?

He felt the rage in his bones bubble up again. All because of that damn puppeteer he had to waste so much time and thought. He was gonna show him a piece of his mind

“I also know you dropped his feathery ass down a hole. I want your help to do that but more deadly.”

…

He looked up at the sprawling metropolis before him. A giant near medieval city with a huge city center full of tall towers perfect for flying through and sprawling wings of market places and houses on both sides spread wide. He dug under the city and made his way to both outer wings of the city.

He was gonna snip this birds wings that he was so proud of. Spouting about his empire and his obedience, bullshit all of it. He pulled the tnt out of his inventory and went into autopilot placing bombs in a straight underground grid he doesn't remember how he knew this was the best way to blow things up. Probably something doc knew well enough to pass over to him when he was summoned. Like half the redstone things he just knew to make. 3X3 doors with the hole in them, bud switched, perimeters. Things he was born knowing. When he came back to himself there were two sets of tunnels under the empire full of explosives that would knock the roads out from the cities feet and blasting the floors off buildings.

“All your ever be is the vague memory of a bully, make another joke while there hanging at a rope so lower it, push em to the dirt till the words no longer hurt can you hear me?! “ He sang as he crawled out of the tunnel leaving tnt behind as a fuse. 

Like the fuse that void had lit on him he lit the fuse of his own anger and the tnt explode outward like a physical manifestation of his emotions he pulls out a sign and sets it down writing out 

“Useless bird with clipped wings. Nothing to be proud of.”

He left as soon as he came. The sun was rising and he really just wanted to go home now. He has had enough of gods and shit trying to play with his life.

...

“Trip come look at this.” he waves his trap buddy into the alcove he dug into the side of his hill base and filled with water to make a boat bay. It had chains hanging down from the ceiling into the water or above it to hang lanterns from and so he could climb out of the water easier. They were working on a magma column trap that would drag players down and drown them using a large piston tape.

“Alrighty. Did we water proof the tape all the way? We can’t have water flooding out the redstone.” The thin shadow leaned over the edge to look at the bottom of the cove. He looked back at him and smiled placatingly

“Course we did levia. We have trapping standards.” his friends waved off his worry 

THWIP!! An arrow had sunk into the wall right behind him and he looked out and saw one red leaking eye poke out of a stalagmite on the entrance to the cove 

SHINK! He doges out the wave of a sword and gets nicked on the arm as his friend slashes across at him with no warning

“What the FUCK!” another arrow fly at him and clanks off the side of his metal face. He pulls out his riptide trident and throws himself into the cove and goes flat. They never connected the piston tape and Redrum hates water so that gives him the advantage

…

Shadoc was going to Leviathans base, he hadn’t seen him for a week now and he was getting worried. Last time he saw him he was really tired from his altercation with the literal shadowlands. Now that he was fully aware of himself he really needed to find his brother and explain what had happened. He couldn't bring himself to tell Doc yet but maybe telling Leviathan would help… He felt weaker now but its a price he would gladly pay for no longer feeling the electricity under his skin.

He didn't know if he should enter from the front door… He knew there was lots of redstone inside and even though he knew he couldn't blow it sky high his whole body shook at the thought of walking through. Normally leviathan would dig a tunnel straight into his room for them to get in but His other half wasn't here to do that this time. He decided to walk around the hill to the beach to look for another way in. He knew his brother made lots of very small entrances and exits and maybe they didn't contain as much redstone since the hermits can't enter through them.

“SHIT”

“Hold still you lizard bastard!”

He jolted back from the sound of yelling and clashing metal. That was leviathan. He heard the swoop sound of a riptide trident and a splash with the sounds of chains dragging. He ran around the bend of the rocky beach to see an alcove. 

SPLASH- Leviathan shot out of the water grabbing onto a chain and threw his trident at a figure. Red eye, fowl glare, Bow. That's one of Iskall’s shadows. He moved out of the way of it and the trident flew back to leviathans hand. He had a gash glowing yellow on his arm and an arrow stuck between the joint of his robotic shoulder. He let out a roar as his jaw unhinged and he bellowed and grabbed another chain as he threw the trident again. A shadow spun up one of the chains and coalesced into. Murmur?! No. Tripwire (Wasn't he leviathans friend??!!), he grabbed the trident but got dragged into the water as the trident raced back to its owner.

He stepped behind a rock and opened his inventory. A few torches a flower or two a pickaxe and a stone sword he made during the night while he was on his way here. He could do this. He had more deaths under his belt then all the shadows here combined.

…

He sunk back to the bottom of the alcove. He couldn’t stay here any longer he was getting pushed in and Tripwire was starting to find his movement patterns. He knew he had a shadow tunnel on the left side of the cove between some coarse dirt and a stair. If he got in there he could get to his control room and keep them away until he could figure out how to be rid of them… Why are they even here? He and Trip were friends and he had never done anything to Red in his life. He climbed up the side of the pool flat as he could and bolted for his exit as fast as he could 

TWIP- another arrow no problem he missed. He heard a sword clash and assumed Trip had missed him or took mercy. He fled into his tunnels and mechanisms, hit that button open that passage, turn that item 3 times open that passage. Suddenly he slammed into a wall. He looked up only to see a glowing yellow web and when he backed away it turned invisible.. He can't go that way. He dived into a secondary passage and hit all the mechanisms to get back on the main tunnel. He turned and went 3d as he hit a walking corridor to his control room only to turn around and see an absolutely pissed off red holding a very enchanted sword

“Fuck no you Redrum ass!!” 

He ran toward another secondary tunnel only for one of his concrete drop doors to activate and trap him in the corridor. He turned around and pulled out his trident only to see red was gone and all the doors were shut and hardening into concrete from the water on the other side of the doors. He didn't have a pick oh god where did he go?! There's no secondary paths in this corridor and he heard Red follow him in so he couldn't have looped back and gotten to the control room already. He ran to the now rock hard door and started clawing at it. It would take time but all he needed was one block and he could get to the control room.

…

His pummel slammed into the back of Tripwires head and knocked him off balance. He flipped the sword around and made for a swing only for a yellow purple string to cling around his sword and knock it from his hand. He looked down at his opponent to see and entire web of these purple yellow strings swarming the entire room and seep into all the cracks of the base including where Leviathan had ran off too. He was trapped here. More strings seemed to split from others and soon he was being chased by them all around the room. He had to grab vines and throw himself into walls to avoid the mass of them while also dodging swiped from their owner. He fell into the water.

He was not ready for this.

…

He made it to the control room. Red wasn't here at all. Running over to the consoles he opens the observation window to the cove to see if Trip followed him. He gasped in panic as he saw a mass of those yellow strings smash into a wall where a figure jumped away and fell into the cove Tripwire stalked forward toward his brother in the water.

SMASH! He howled in panic and rage as he smashed through the glass and tackled Tripwire to the ground and reared back his clawed hand and slashed his hand down across his face when his friend flipped over to retaliate. He tried to go 2d to escape the grip but he grabbed him by the tie and yanked him back and punched him in the face again. A mass of strings slammed into his back but he kept on him and snarled

“Nobody and I mean NOBODY gets to mess with him. Not even you, you filthy snake!!” His trident appeared in his off hand and he took the moment of shock Trip had to plunge it down on him. The strings tore at his back trying to pull him away and rip at limbs but he dug his robotic claws deep into Tripwires side so pulling at him only tore deeper into him.

His betrayal seeped out in tears and snarls and manifested into his deep violence. He pulled Tripwire up and threw him onto a rocky spike where he faded into yellow triangles and smoke as he cried out. He looked down to see a sword handle in his gut from where tripwire had went for a killing blow. 

...

Bubbles started to rise from the cove and suddenly with the sound of pistons Shadoc was dragged down into the water into a floor covered in maga blocks. He panicked and his whole body shook. He went flat and got himself off the magma and slinked out of the water to see Leviathan roar in grief and rage over Tripwire as he threw him aside where all his items spilled as he faded. His brother had arrows and an entire sword pierced through him.

Arrows shot from the walls and sunk into the walls and his back. Leviathan was still on the ground and didn’t get hit, good. He crouched below the arrow fire and looked up at the window that had been revealed and promptly smashed through only to see Islall’s shadow fury on his face flicking levers and touching lines of mechanics sending more arrows and fire charges flying.

“Shadoc! Are you okay?” his brother had thrown himself across the ground closer to him and checked on him while dodging a fire charge.

“What about you?! You have a sword in you gut?!”

“Im fine but you just got sucked into one of my taps and it didn’t explode and are you okay?!”

“Yeah im good”

He froze up, he didn't blow up the trap right, he couldn't.

“We have to get rid of red somehow he's activating all my traps and doors even the ones not hooked up to the control room. I may regret this but can you blow it sky high.”

“N-No i cant.”

“Why? You blew up one of my traps last month when you found it”

Shrink- an arrow sank into leviathans arm and he learched into him with a gasp and whined

“Damn im getting low. You sure you can’t?!”

He panicked how could he do this? If only he hadn't rid himself of his power he could stop this right now. He couldn't stop this. He couldn't do anything he was powerless. He grabbed onto Leviathan shaking his head. The strings had disappeared with Tripwire they could run. 

“J-Just run okay? I'll c-cover you best i can and follow you out.” and arrow sunk into his back when he covered leviathans back to cover him while he sat himself up his body ragged and torn. He nodded and stumbled to his feet. He jumped up after him and urged him out as fast as he could move as a walking pincushion. He knocked arrows away and hit fireballs back into the window where Red was glaring at the where he disappeared in and out of the control room like he was disappearing from thin air before another volley of traps by them would open up and fire.

In the few seconds it took them to get out of the cove and onto the beach he had taken 3 arrows to the back and a fire charge had signed the back of his coat. They were free.


	4. Thunder

Burning, everything was burning. His heart burned the sword in his chest seared him and his eyes burned with tears. His base smoldered in the distance the forest atop his hill lit aflame and smoke billowing from all the entrances. The arrows littered through his whole body pulsed in pain. It's been a long time since he was this close to going down, he could barely stand. Doc always refused to kill or fight him. The only reason he could talk was from his persistence in hunting him down and killing him before he had the clear thought to trap him instead. He took another step with shadoc and his knee buckled with the arrow sticking out the side stopping him from readjusting. He hit the sands of the beach hard with a hiss as it pushed the sword further through. He didn't dare move any further in fear of moving anything deeper.

“O-o-ooh no, are y-ou okay?!” Shadoc knelt beside him with his own arrows and wounds. He turned his head to placate him but choked on his words. Shadoc looked down at him tears in his eyes and cuts on his face.

“I’ll b-be fine no p-problems.” It hurt to speak but it hurt to see shadoc panicked more. But god did everything hurt. He was used to quick ruthless deaths when he did piss Doc off enough but this was a whole new horror show.

He still couldn’t move, He was weak and he couldn't stand and walk and help his brother, couldn't protect him if red came after them when he was done raising his base to the ground. He couldn't do anything but sit in pain as his head went blurry and his eyesight was blocked by tears and sand. Why did Trip do that, they were friends, trap buddies. They were summoned together and spent their first moments in life fighting their own Summoners in the same room. Yet the burning in his gut told a whole different story to the brothers in trapping arms they had been. That hurt to think about, he was done thinking. His base all his work gone his friends sword tearing his body apart his brother crying beside him.. He needed a second to think

…

He panicked. Levia had stopped moving 134 seconds ago after he fell.

“One, two, three, four.” He didn't know what to do, He didn't know if he could move him without killing him. He said he was low and if that fall did any damage to him moving him could move the sword and kill him. He had to do something though. Surly Iskall’s new shadow was still after them… He was burning down the base when they left but he must still be after them

“One, two, three, four.” There had to be some way to help. He could move him if the word wasn't in the way but leviathan was face down and he couldn't pull the blade out from the back without killing him. He can't be the reason his brother dies. He couldn't handle the thought. But if they stayed here he would surely be killed, its now or never

“One, two, three, four.”

He scooted closer to Levia careful with his own wounds and slowly reached out to his robotic arm. If he grabbed his shoulder and pulled him toward him hopefully it wouldn't hurt him.

He health his breath and pulled him onto his side. He didn't move just hissed slightly and his face scrunched up. No items, no particles fizzling away. He was still alive. He looked closely at the wounds. A slash on his arm and a large gash on his collarbone, an arrow in the side of his knee and his right shoulder along with a few arrows stuck in his coat and one in his back. The real problem was the diamond sword up to the hilt in his gut. It was pushed close and you could see the entire blade out his back glowing and rippling with enchanted light. He touched the hilt, A fire II sharpness I sword. That has to hurt like hell. Fire enchants did not work on them but it made every hit fester and burn.

“One, two, three, four.”

It had to come out. If it stayed in it would only continue to burn him up and if he got rid of it he could carry him without worry of damage ticking up. He just had to make absolutely sure he didn't drag or hit it against anything. The skin around the blade was still withering away to yellow with the burning sword.

“L-l-l-” He wished he could sign to him. “Le-Lev. H-hol-d st-ste-till.” He blinked the tears from his eyes and took a breath and stilled himself, He cant count less he get distracted. He grabbed the pommel and hilt firmly and pulled it back slowly revealing the blade and a mess of yellow swirling in the wound. He held the hilt in one hand and grab onto the midpoint of the blade cutting his scaley palm open as he steadies the blade from falling and pulled it free. Leviathan was shivering the whole time. He couldn't keep it from hurting but it would only hurt more if left in. Tripwire planned to make this kill slow and painful obviously. What a horrible thing.

The wound was horrible Yellow light poured into the gaps to keep from seeing through to the other end. Shadows may heal fast but this would never heal without help. It would take longer than it took for his lighting scars to clear and they definitely couldn't wait that long.

Where was he gonna go? He needed somebody to heal levia and help them fend off Iskall’s shadow. Cleo? She can probably have Phas help deal with their sure pursuer, but he knows she knows nothing about healing because she is much more durable than the average hermit. Joe? Killjoy is stronger than him and is normally pretty on board to put shadows back in their place, joe knows a little bit about medicine but joyful hangs around him and he knows puzzler hates leviathan just as much as leviathan hates him so having him know about what's happening is not a good idea. Wait, he knows somebody with a near perfectly shadow proofed base and medical knowledge. Doc

...

MumboJumbo summoned his shadow

...

He was fiddling with one of his pin boards covered in pictures and papers. He was moving them to a side room since he couldn't look into anything any further. The shadow update had changed everything and he has had much more urgent things to deal with. He rubbed at the bruise on his back, Leviathan had one hell of a throwing arm. He deserved it, of course but it was hard to justify in his mind. Shadoc was completely unexpected but Leviathan was shocking in his differences. He didn't know if he regretted summoning him or not. He had to work so much harder to make his base safe from him but he also made Shadocs life better. He couldn't bring himself to fight him after he stopped killing him outright. Always afraid of scaring his shadow like a repeat of history. He hoped one day him and leviathan would be able to talk without the claws out and the bickering and snarling. He cared too much about them for that to be the rest of their future.

BANG BANG BANG! He heard the sound from the entrance of his base. His whole build was sealed airtight so no shadows could come in without him opening the door with his key card. He pulled out the named carrot on a stick and threw it into the scanner and the door opened revealing…

Shadoc sobbing with wide wild eyes carrying Leviathan who was more glowing yellow then skin on his chest and the both of them full of arrows and covered in burns. Leviathan isn't moving but shadows don't sleep? Something more than the wounds was wrong.

He stepped forward and when Shadoc limped forward to meet him, he reached out for Leviathan but thought better of it remembering his constant snarling and snapping.

“Can I help him?” He didn’t want to cross any lines.

“P-P. P-le-lease-se.” Shadocs hands twitched in a simplified ‘yes’ sign while he limped another step forward and hoisted leviathan up into his arms properly again.

He immediately reached out again and scooped up Leviathan careful not to touch either of his boys wounds. He gestured Shadoc to follow him and his shadow complied no longer weighed down by his sibling. He walked as fast as his shadow could keep up with towards the only medical room he had set up right now. Normally he had them in key parts of the server for if anybody got majorly hurt but he was too busy at the start of this season to get them all set up before space started to get filled.

He pushed open the iron door after knocking the button to unlock it with his shoulder and ran over to a bed to set Leviathan down as gentle as he can. He turns around to see Shadoc enter the room. The rooms are made of quarts with a blue stripe of concrete in the middle. A soft bed and a few chairs along with a desk of supplies and a brewing stand.

“How hurt are you right now?” His medical training kicked in with injury priorities and diagnostics running through his head. He needed to do his best for his boys.

He holds up his hands and makes the sign for ‘Half down’

“Okay. I'll make sure Leviathan will be okay then we will get you patched up. There's some extra blankets in the closet if you want to sit down and take a breather. When your ready it would help to know what happened.”

He looks away from his shadow and skirts over to a brewing stand and starts brewing regen potions while he grabs bandages and a book from his desk with galactic sprawled on the cover. He walks over to the bedside where Leviathan lays. His whole lower chest is glowing vibrant yellow and the skin seems to be sizzling at the edges. Wither of some kind or a flame enchant. Milk doesn't work for shadows and He cant stop it if it was from an enchantment. Best to just get it covered so it doesn't panic anybody or give away that he is hurt. 

They never knew much about the anatomy of shadows. When they were cut the glowed but didn't bleed. Cuts melded together quickly. Apex apparently has bones? They don't sleep or breath and they cannot eat or drink potions. But right now his boys were hurt so he was going to do everything he knew in the book to help. He knew that their robotics didn't need to be charged or fixed as it was all treated the same as the rest of their body even if the robotics were tougher.

_ _ _ Leviathan lifted his arm to block the sword swipe and growled at him before lunging with his sword in turn _

_ Docm77 was slain by his shadow _

He noticed an odd light refraction in a cut. He looked closer and saw glass was lodged in it keeping it from sealing up. He got to work on making sure all the wounds could close and that any arrows were snapped and removed. Then he snagged a potion from the stand and let the splash help heal the open wounds. He wouldn't know how many potions it would take for the chest wound to heal over but it would hold over till after he helped Shadoc.

He walked over to where his Shadow sat holding his hands together and tapping.

“Shadoc”

He looked up at him and tilted his head

“We gotta get those arrows out so they can close up okay?”

“Y-yeah…”

“You know it will hurt right?”

“Y-y-yeah…”

“Will you be okay if i do?”

Shadoc nods and sinks in on himself. Preparing himself for the arrows to get pulled out. Luckily all arrows on the server where not barbed or serrated and only have one point so they would slip out easily.

SHRINK Shadoc hissed and flinched but didn't move till the 3 arrows were removed.

“You okay Shadoc? I'll grab another regeneration potion so they seal…” He really hopes he’s okay. He’s never had to have arrows removed before, he knows from experience that it's quite painful.

“I-im okay now.. T-hanks.” 

“I'm glad. So, how did you end up here? Your brother was hurt really bad so what went down?”

Maybe they had a fight? He doubts that they care too much about each other to fight enough to end the way they did. It had to be another shadow because he definitely didn't do anything. Maybe Apex? No Apex wasn't fond of bows. Not killshot, he would have used a gun.

“I-I was looking for L-Levia.” Shadoc shook and counted a few loops

“He was fighting, Tr-ipwire and I-Iskills new shadow.”

Oh… That explains why Leviathan was so hurt. That pair is vicious. Wait

“Tripwire?... There friends though.”

“N-Not any-m-more, Levia k-killed him when he k-knocked me i-into a trap.”

“A.. Trap… Is leviathans base okay?” He didn't want to ask but he had to if the implied happened.

“H-h-h-h-his” He glared to himself and signed ‘His, base, is, not, good’

“You blew up his base?” SHadoc jolted and shook his head no rapidly with tears in his eyes. He shouldn't have said that…

‘Ice, Shadow, Lit, It, On, Fire’

“Red burned his base down…”

Shadoc nodded. He stood up and grabbed his communicator

DocM77: Iskall your murder shadow is as good as dead

Iskall85: Which one? What happened

DocM77: Red. My shadows were almost killed and Leviathan has no base now. Deal with him or i wi;;

Iskall85: … I’ll handle him man. Is Leviathan out for me? Or you?

DocM77: We are fine.

He sighed in anger

“Iskall will handle red you won't have to worry about him. I’ll tell mumbo about what Tripwire did.”

_ Leviathan stared at him with a complacent anger but didn't immediately jump to kill him, he didn't move in turn _

_ “Yknow, I really don't like you but i'm done fighting you like this” he grinned and shifted his leg onto a button on the floor and all doc saw was lava  _

_ Docm77 was slain by his shadow _

…

He was weak, something was wrong, so so so so wrong. He was burning and nothing made sense. He was supposed to be able to protect himself. He had traps and knew how to scare people to where he needed them. They didnt work why didn't they work?! He had claws and he was never without a weapon. That didn't stop him from being outnumbered. He was supposed to be able to protect shadoc. But he was standing over him arrows in his back and burns on his face. He wasn't scary enough. Was like a dog with all bark and no bite. He wasn't capable enough to stop anything. He got lost in his own base. He killed his friend. His friend almost killed his everything. His brother was strong. His brother could blow up half the server. His brother said he couldn't. He couldn't protect him. He never could. He didn’t need to. He needs to. Need more to help more.

  
  


“Iskall will handle red you won't have to worry about him. I’ll tell mumbo about what Tripwire did.”

He sat up and snarled in pain, that hurt. He knew the voice and that worried him.

“Holy shit! Ah your up again.”

Before he could open his eyes he was knocked back down into whatever he was lying on. He settled down and looked to see his brother lying right on him in a hug.

“Goooood morning, goooood morning, god my whole body hurts.” He sighed when shadoc jumped off him like he had been burned

“Why am I here Doc? Give me a reason you shouldn't throw you out that window.”

“I-i brought you here after you fell down.”

“Oh cool, so we were not kidnapped. Good to know.” He sat up again and glared daggers at doc before smiling at Shadoc and figuring out why he was still burning inside. He reached down to his chest and grabbed at the fabric wrapped around him-

“Do not do that!” His hand was pulled away before he could check himself and he growled at Doc. 

“I’m perfectly fi-

“No you are not perfectly fine! Your brother carried you hear and you were more torn open then whole!! You will leave those on until i know your healed or so help me!”

“But they burn!” He did not like this conversation. He did NOT want to be here

“You mean you burn. Your outer layers have been sizzling away since you got here and i've been trying to heal them.”

He shut up. He knew he was right everything had been burning since he got rid of Trip. He felt horrible. He looked down at his lap, sighed, and gave in.

“Okay..”

“Okay?”

“Okay i wont mess with the bandages till i heal.”

“Good. You scared us a lot.”

Shadoc nodded from where he was standing next to him and kept counting to himself in worry of some kind.

“Hey, Shad? I know now isn't the best time but why couldn't you blow anything up?”

“I- One, two thre, four,”

‘Not, right, now, please, missed, brother, i, am, tired’

“Sorry. For asking and for getting hurt,``he should not have asked that. He's out of it. He can’t think. He patted the spot next to him and Shadoc sat down with him. He leaned into his side and stared at Doc before rolling his eyes. 

He started to sing

“Hello my old heart, how have you bee- Pain, his chest screamed at him for the movement of letting out louder sound and he choked on his voice

Doc sighed at him and smiled before he picked up

“ Are you still there inside my chest? I’ve been so worried, you’ve been so still.” Doc looked at him pointedly with that line and he shrugged with an embarrassed huff.

“Barely beating at all. Ooooh don't leave me here alone. Don't tell me that we’ve grown, haven't loved in a little while, ooooh i don't want to be alone, I wanna find a home, and I want to share it with you.”


	5. Lightning

Leviathan was laying in bed, eyes closed just thinking. Shadoc was beside him with his hands playing through the more rascally parts of his hair. Normally he would be playing with Shadocs hair showing him how to tie and curl it in new and inspiring ways. This time his head was in Shadocs lap and his hair was getting done up in a bun. He was doing his best to be calm and think things through. He and his mirror had been staying in Docs infirmary the past couple days. His wounds were almost fully closed and Shadoc was as fit as a fiddle. He wasn't really enjoying his time here. He did his best to listen to Docs medical orders due to Shadoc being there but he really didn't want to hear a word from him. He was just so caught in his thoughts. He sighed and looked up at Shadoc who had finished with his man bun and gone on to reading a book.

“What are ya reading?”

“Can’t you tell?.”

“I can't read.”

“You can't read?”

“Your one of the most intelligent shadows. I’ve only died like a handful of times if you had larger than average hands.”

“it's a book about mobs, creepers and such.”

“We in there?”

“No. This is an old book written by one of Docs old friends. Etho or something similar. Apparently he knew everything you could about mobs. Also writes in Galactic which is a pain.”

“Galactic?”

“The language Grian speaks in when he gets really upset and inconsolable. It's also a more developed version of the Enchanting table language just less cryptic and jumbled.”

‘Huh thats a new tidbit.” He fell silent and started humming while shadoc went back to his reading. He felt the blankets over him. Scratchy and rough. It was a nice texture. Kept him from spiralling into his thoughts and falling to a place where he no longer moved or responded.

“I gotta admit something…” Shadoc spoke slow and quiet looking into his book like a lifeline.

He hummed calmly and closed his eyes to look unassuming, made it easier for his mirror to calm.

“I-I couldn't blow up your base… Because I don't have the power.”

He slowly but surely opened his eyes and looked up at his brother incredulously

“You what?”

“I.. I don't have surge anymore.”

“How does that even happen? Powers don't just go away.” He spoke slowly and surely to not scare him even though his mind was starting to spiral back into the depths diving down down down into thought. Scrabbling at rock and dreams to reach deep at his primal instincts to protect. He held back tight. No slipping.

“Y-you told me about Zed’s new shadow. The creepy one who gave powers to shadows… I searched for him and asked him to take surge away. He offered me a new power. I-I didn't want one… I-im sorry. So sorry, if I had kept surge i could have saved yo-” He was cut off by leviathan reaching up and grabbing his face forcing him to look down at him, in his eyes.

“Don't say that. I know how much you hated your power and what it did. I know you wanted it gone. I'm not mad at you for trying to ensure your own happiness. I'm proud of you. I will always be proud of you.” He forced as much confidence into the statement as he could. He needed to know he loved him too much to ever make him stay a way that hurt him.

“0-okay.”

“I Love you too much. You are important to me and I want you to be who you want to be. Be what makes you happy. Even if i get hurt. I would be hurt every day if it meant you were happy.”

Shadoc hiccuped and dragged leviathan up by his arms into a bone crushing hug placing his head in his hair and crying. He reached down and grabbed his brothers arms covered in light bumps and grooves from long faded scars and held him close. His mind clawed and swirled and tore till he realised he was no longer really there.

...

He sits somewhere away in his mind where his thoughts can run wild without showing outside. He thinks about what he had told Shadoc. When he told him about abyss he hadn't known much about him. He was a rumor to him till the day he got pulled side on the road. He just wanted to give him a warning and a heads up. Now while his brother was happier he was hurt and couldn't protect himself as well as he used to. He knew he couldn't protect him. His brother had to take arrows for him and burns so they could run away only for him to become a useless pile on the ground. He was a hindrance to his brother but that didn't matter when his brother was a force of nature larger than life and stronger than any storm he had seen. Now they are both weak and he himself felt more broken then he ever had.

Before if he was in trouble with anybody he would go to his best friend Trip to get help or he would hang out with his brother for the comfort of knowing he was protected. Now his best friend had burned and scorned him away for doing something. He doesn't understand why he was left like this. He cared about trip. Had helped him trap mumbo and faced the wrath of a peeved murmur side by side with him. Trip had scared the snot out of joyful when he came by looking smug with his pen and quill. They worked together and Leviathan would and has died for him and the inverse as well. What did he do wrong to him?

He is scared of what he did and what will happen now. He just wants to be. To be scary enough that nothing will mess with his family again for any reason. Be strong enough so the wounds in his heart don't burn. He looks down at himself, a shifting form of yellow and greys. He looks around at his darkness. It's time to claw his way back out. Things have to change.

...

\- He out again?”

“Yeah.. I don't know why it keeps happening but after i told him he just started to go again.”

“Alright then best to leave him to it.”

“Whaaa? Ya talkin bout meh-?” His words stuck together as he looked at Doc who raised an eyebrow at him while Shadoc huffed and smiled at him and lifted him up off his chest where he had fallen away from everything.

“Y-yes we were talking about what i told you, while you were… Sleeping?”

“More like,,, Being in my own face... “

“That must have been an ugly experience.” Doc smirked at him and he mustered a lazy snarl back at him

“Well you look like a cod!”

“We are identical. Your aware of that fact correct? Now then. Your brother let me know what was up with him and im glad he did. How is your chest feeling?”

“Fine, for real this time. We have been here for ages.”

“Alright then.” Doc walked over to where he was leaned up against shadoc and reached for his bandages. He glared at both the hand and bandages in slight distaste. Doc had not been bad to him but he held a grudge… Even if he shouldn't. He didn't make a protest and the bandages gut cut away to reveal grey skin with a slightly rough texture of a burn scar that would disappear with time.

“Can we leave now?”

“You can leave. Shadoc could leave whenever we wanted.”

He shifted and Shadoc got up and helped pull him out of the bed to stand. He smiled at Doc.

“I'll see you next time something goes to shit.”

“Don't get in trouble just so you can see me again Leviathan.”

He grinned as Doc stepped right into his embarrassing trap as he pushed open the iron door with his brother flanking him.

“Sure thing ‘Dad’.” He laughed as Doc spluttered and sashayed out with Shadoc who was trying to not burst out in wheezing laughter.

...

He slid down from the top of the cobbled together dragon skull and skids into the grass while looking up at his next target. He sneaks up the stone brick banister leading to one of the rustic rooms through the skeleton, he rounds the corner at the top of the stairs and smiles before jumping out at his brother who was following one of his cats around. 

“Boo!”

His brother turns around on him with an unimpressed look

“You were singing this is halloween, the whole time. I heard you from all the way over here”

“It's a good song and you can't stop me!”

Shadoc nodded at this and sat down on the edge of a planter. Where his white cat immediately hopped up and rubbed into his side where it's heterochromatic eyes darted between them before it settled to close them and flop onto its back to have their chin scratched and blue collar fiddled with.

“What were you up to today?”

“Hmmmmm, well trying to sneak up on you.”

“What were you really up to?”

“... Sifting through the rubble of my base.”

Shadoc cringed at the answer but nodded.

“Did you find anything?...”

“All of my tridents were melted and warped but I did find a few tools that didn't get ruined. All the circuitry of the base was wrecked and unsalvageable while most everything else was scorched.

They were standing on a wooden platform between two wing bones that had a small flower garden in little planters. Shadocs base had a lot of character to it. Little things he had around that made it seem lived in.

“Don't sing this is Halloween when your trying to be sneaky.”

“Would you rather me hum horrible james bond and action spy movie themes? I can totally do that.”

Shadoc snorts and things go silent as shadoc pets his cat. His thoughts wander back to his base and he already knows he should leave before he blanked out on him. It hasn't happened since his wounds all healed but he doesn't want to scare him if he does again.

He walked towards his small building in Shadocs base. Rustic homes sprouted out from all open spaces while the innards of the stone dragon skeleton were all work stations tunnels and nailed in walkways. His place was a small 1 layer house with a basement and it was tucked away where the tail of the dragon started. It was made of wood and bricks and had a curling chimney that smoke drifted from. He enjoyed making this place. Maybe making a new base for himself wouldn't be too hard

** _Okay, you do you for now but you will see how things change._ **

He frowned as he sat down at his table. That shadow. The abyss, had given and taken his brothers power and had known the entire time that his brother was vulnerable. Didn't tell him that to convince him just smiled like he knew exactly what would happen. As is he knew His friend would skewer him and he would be powerless to do anything.

He needed to change. Doc wouldn't kill him enough for him to get power. But he had been offered it before… He could die and fight puzzler if it meant his brother had proper protection. Someone who would be capable of guarding him. He sighed and leaned back and forced himself deep down into his mind so he could think on this. Not knowing what was around him had actually helped him gather his thoughts when he was hurt.

…

He looked down and the swirling yellow and greys that shift on him as if he didnt know what shape he was meant to take. His body lashing out at his self image and snarling like a beast. 

“Do we want to be like this?” A copy of himself stared back at him. He had a wild frenzied look to him as if he had just run from battle. That image fizzled and he saw shadows swirl into many forms all terrifying. All powerful and fearsome and true. Thrashing against everything keeping all away from its family. The image shifted to him snarling over Tripwire as his brother dragged himself from the water. These images were all true.

“I need to be.”

“ Do we want to be?”

“Anything for him. I want to be everything he needs.”

A white smile to wide and a darkness to dark seemed to spin around him in understanding. He knew what he wanted.

He lifted himself from his chair a storm raging in his eyes. Rising from the shadows of a god of lightning and destruction to become the waves that carried and powered the storm into new territory and new light.

_ He would be the waves. _

...

It was night. He had left Shadocs base during mid day knowing the walk would be long. He lifted his clawed toes from the earth and strided forward down the path he had last seen the void, straight toward the rubble of his collapsed home. Red had blown the roof out and burned the whole place. 

“Who's to know if your soul will fade at all? The one you sold to fool the world… You lost your self esteem along the way, yeah.”

“Good God, you're coming up with reasons Good God, you're dragging it out, And good God, it's the changing of the seasons

I feel so fake, so follow me down and just…”

“Fake it if you're out of direction, Fake it if you don't belong. Yeah, fake it if you feel like infection. Whoa, you're such a fucking hypocrite.”

"You should know that the lies won't hide your flaws. No sense in hiding all of yours, You gave up on your dreams along the way, yeah."

He shuffled, irritation was building up and he was starting to get antsy. He needed to do this as soon as possible before anything more could happen. A tear leaked from his eye, he didn't want to be like this anymore. He growled and turned towards the water to seeth in his guilt and snarl at himself.

The wind shifts and he knows. He turned around ready this time to see the abyss behind him in the sand while the waves lap at his heels. He stares at the to white teeth, the burning eyes like his own and the curiously appeased look on their face.

**"What brings you here so early after last time?" **

He realises they are standing beside his home. Rocks piled high and blasted out rubble thrown into the ocean around him. Surrounded by his own failure, he doubts why he is here. He could go home and sit on the couch with shadoc and listen to him babble about books and things he likes. Could spend happy moments with him without this dread seeping in. The reminders of his own weakness and fear. His failures as a friend and protector. 

**"Calm down I'm not here to scorn you." ** He spoke frankly and the light seemed to get pulled in. He walked toward him and set hi hand on his shoulder tops tear him in the eyes.

He was stock still, he remembered this feeling from last time but now it was mixed with his own thoughts nailing him in place.

**"I know who you are now, I know who you are, I know who you are now. There before the flesh I saw a brighter world beyond myself."**

"In my hour of weakness you were there to see my courage fail. The years have been long and you have taught me well to sit and wait, Planning without acting, Steadily becoming what I hate."

The void stares at him as he stopped and shuffled, now able to move and think again. He ruffled his brow and looked to the familiar face

"Why are you here?"

**"Why I'm here is not of my own accord. I'm here because you were looking for me."**

"Of course. Your the abyss why wouldn't you know." He muttered over the new info

**"Every shadow is part of me I know when I'm needed. What do you need?" ** Abyss strode around him like he was measuring him up and seeing all he was lacking. He flicked his ears down and turned to face him as he went around.

"I don't need anything."

**"Smart aren't we? won't let me out of your sight will you. I'll rephrase. What do you need so you can do what you want."**

"..."

**"Well? I already asked you once,and im back again. Speak."**

"I want a power."

**"That's the easy part. What do you want? Your brother could have stopped time. Could have walked through walls of he wanted. He choose nothing only to be rid of the lighting in his skin.”**

"I-I… I want to be the scariest thing around, everybody leaves those creepy blue shadows alone. Everybody leaves you alone. I want to be scary enough so nobody will mess with me, strong enough so nobody will mess with my family, and armoured enough that I can keep them safe. Make me a proper monster. I wanna be a fucking kaiju.”

**“Well then monster. You will be complete, a vast dark sea black as night that will clash over the world and rise into the sky howling screams and torrents of water to block out the stars in the name of those you protect. Your feral ferocity will be unmatched.”**

Abyss reached a shifting smokey hand out to leviathan

**“In exchange for this you will help me deal with puzzler.”**

He took the offered hand and nodded. He was going to be able to keep them safe.

**“This will hurt, I suggest you be in the ocean when you try and use it, Leviathan.”**

Burning similar to the phantom pain in his chest shot up his arm and through his whole body, it felt like lava was rushing through him at peak velocity. It ended as soon as it started though and he was left hunched forward on the ground with Abyss crouching in front of him holding him up.

**“Your one of the lucky ones. Most others had powers already and ended up knocked out. You were a blank slate so it was much easier to give you a strong power up front. Go now monster and prepare yourself.” **The void hoisted him off the ground and he stumbled back on his legs trying to gain his balance. He didn’t feel different but he knew something had changed. He felt right but incomplete somehow. He tried to balance himself with his tail sticking ou- his tail isn't that long what is he thinking? He straightened out and turned to look at Abyss only to see he had seeped off into the night already.

…

He sits in the jaw of the cobble dragon petting Shadocs cat while doodling out a rough base plan. He needed to make a new place to stay soon, he was itching to get to work on redstone farms and traps but he would never build anything here. So far the plan was to build off an ocean monument since elder guardians didn't target shadows with mining fatigue. It would be a good starter defense while he got set up. Then he could make a guardian farm to supply lots of building materials for expansion. Lots of water filled hallways and grand open areas of air held in by glass. He would get more use out of tridents that way as well. He could add conduits and dolphin boosters to areas for some really fast travel options.

“What are you drawing?” Shadoc trudged into the clearing his arms piled high with more books than you could shake an axe at.

“New base plans. Wanna start getting ideas”

Shadoc spilled his books over the ground in front of him and peered over the drawing while his cat stretched out into the sun.

“An underwater base? Aren't those hard to make?”

“Hard to make in some ways but shadows can’t drown and water doesn't slow us down. Besides. Red hates water, so it's the best detturent. It'll be a fun base for sure.”

“Smart. Well enough about base shenanigans we have something more important to do.”

“What cha mean we?”

“I'm teaching you to read. No sibling of mine is permitted to be illiterate.”

...  
  


-Chop Chop Chop

He was gathering up a few more stacks of wood before he left for the ocean. He wanted to test out his power while he looked for an unraided temple, he wanted to ensure nobody would have been to the area of his base so he would have to go fairly far out. He stashed the last stack of wood into his shulker box snapping open his inventory to stow it away. The woods around him had sunlight flitting down past the shadows of leaves. He sighed into the winds and started the grudge towards the ocean.

Stepping into the sands of one of the many beaches he felt something rolling in his gut, he wanted to swim and to explore the depths and the waves. He wanted to go flat and rush through them into the deepest depths. He couldn't though. His items were all gathered so if he fell flat they would all be ejected from his inventory.

He stepped into the cold waves and let himself sink down into them, gripping his claws down into the stone bluffs so he could drag himself through the water. Pushing off of legs and swimming forward far far out to sea. Squids dashed away and plethoras fish swerved from his path.

Deep below the waves he swam, he knew they were crashing overhead, a storm was raging out in the waters. Pulling unsuspecting victims into swirling rip tides and savage waves. He pushed past the last of the reefs and off the ledge of the drop off rocks and gravel spitting up behind him. Laid out before him was a vast dark emptiness so wide and so deep it looked like a void. He took a breath and felt the roiling pit surge with the storm over head. It would take ages to find a monument un touched and in good condition. He needed a better way to travel.

_ ‘Now or never’ _

He feels wave in himself like a raging storm ready to surge over ramparts and sink mighty vessels. He lets loose.

Burning, twisting, expanding. In mere moments everything he ever knew changes. Warps and stretches in a painful song of power and instinct and a feral unbridled rage.

Fins erupt from the waters surface as a long coiled muscular neck rips from the water- rippling fins flop in the howling winds as 2 pairs of piercing yellow eyes scan over the chaos. A dark mane of fur and hair slicks back down the neck past two large fins flanking the sides of a massive jaw. It lurches forward and the maw of a hungry monster flares open the lower half splitting apart in the middle to stretch far in an intimidating display of rows upon rows of needle like teeth with large fangs on the outermost layer. He howls into the storm a sound of vibrating muscle and bones pushed to their limits. The massive head shakes itself of the torrents of water. One half of the jaw goes limp to swing back up and close, the other half following with the sounds of teeth scraping together. It whips around to look down on itself in shock or horror it's unclear. A large fin follows down his back flashing bright yellow with thick spikes supporting it. An enormous shark like tail flicks out of the water splashing hundreds of gallons of water to the side. More yellow stripes adorning it like a caution sign.

He sucks in a breath. His new jaw feels loose and he could feel the difference from the tip of his nose down to his claw and his now much larger than normal tail. He could see far in front of him and his field of view was much bigger than before, the new sensory input almost sending him toppling back into the water he had burst out from. Everything in him was built to be big and intimidating and tough beyond all belief. He felt new but comfortable in this new skin safer. A tougher hide and stronger build. He had to be at least 50 blocks long. He was so large he was standing on the bottom of the drop off that had to have been at least 30 blocks deep. He was massive, a force to be reckoned with now. His new claws clenched and dug trenches into the gravelly floor below. He looks down into the waves and sees his reflection staring back at him. He needed to figure out how to move, he was unsteady on his sea legs at best and the waves rocking against him were no help to his balance with his six legged forum... This was exactly what he needed to keep them safe.

...

He glides through the water at breakneck speeds, a swirling mass of muscle and fins writhing in motion as his powerful tail propels him forwards faster than anything around him. He was far far out from shore, long past the horizon where nobody could see his hulking forum. The water vibrates and resonates with his rumbles and roars.

Ahead lies a familiar structure of aqua blues and dark prismarine. One of many temples he had found on his expedition. He slowed his pace and curled in so his body corkscrewed around itself to slow to a stop. He steps onto the monument and inspects it. Tapping his claws against entrances and checking if it was raided. It seemed strong and had no sign of player built areas. As a final check he placed his larger arm onto the top and pressed down until it broke through. Revealing an angry elder guardian. He bellowed at it as it swam out towards him and batted it away with his tail. This would do for a base.

He looks down at himself, it was him. The four arms a shorter pair and a larger set, his long tail and his striking fins. This was part of him now and he was ecstatic. He was too large to fit into the monument though and he couldn't access his inventory like this. He needed to change back somehow… He probably should have figured that out first. Whoops?

Deep in his heart he felt the waves in him lapping lazily over imaginary shores. He could contain himself like this unlike the typhoon from before. He tried to put the ocean into a smaller container, his normal form. It started to kick back up into a storm the moment he dumped it in. He snapped back and the waves rolled back out into the ocean. He repeats the process three more times. This isn't working. He chuffs and lays down in the gravel to think.

Maybe if he added water back slowly. Funnel his new energy through some sort of transformer? Slow the speed of the water so it doesn't clash. He tries again but slower. Waiting each time for the power to settle. Unknown to him as he does this he is shrinking bit by bit with each pour. His tail shrinking down and his fins settling.

A few minutes later he has moved it all back to his smaller container. It was a deep powerful sea but it was calm. Ready to be called and beckoned into a raging storm at any moment. He opened his eyes to only one input and things seeming more dull. He opened his inventory to all his shulkers of supplies. Only one pair of arms. He looked behind him and saw a large shark like tail swaying through the current… That wasn't supposed to be there. He looked at his hands and saw his claws were much thicker and larger than normal, his chest had the glowing yellow gill markers still and he lifted his hands to his face to feel large fins protruding from the sides of his head, his lab coat was torn by the massive sail like fin on his back. He wasn't back all the way. He must have not done it right. He sits back down only to hiss as he sits on his own tail, normally short enough to not be a problem. Sighing he instead lays on his stomach as water tugs at his clothes and hair and gravel bites into his scales. 

He tries to move everything into the perfect container for hours, all he manages is removing the fins on his face and shrinking the sailfin down to where it did not jut out of his coat. The tail wouldn't budge and no distribution of energy would change that. No point bothering with the markings.

…

Before him stood a mega structure of sea lanterns and glass, his home was settled here bigger than any structure he had ever built. He decided to make it big enough to accommodate his new forum. The first step was the auto guardian farm at the core of it. A power source for all the materials he would need. Next was setting up the elders to cover the main inner sanctums. After that he had made giant arched halls of prismere and glass and smaller walkways for those of normal size. He had been out here for weeks working, he said he would be gone a while but this may be pushing it. The time however helped him adjust to himself. Moving with his tail was incredibly clumsy but he has gotten down swimming in his two forums. Walking above water in both forms has proven hellish, his new tail so bulky he has had to walk hunched forwards more to get proper balance when walking and has had to lean back on it when standing. It was fairly flexible but stiff in the end. Good for swimming less so for balancing on land. His larger self had to many limbs to walk easily, his second smaller set of arms always shoving agents and tripping him.

The water was cold against him as he swam slowly through the halls toward the guardian farm. He needed some more sea lanterns for lighting the area and wanted to see if any nautilus shells got filtered in for more conduits. His tail propelled him along at a slow pace for his normal speeds, but quite faster than a normal player. He let his arms drag limp on his sides and made sure to move his legs along with his tail so they don't cause drag.

He dives down, down, down off the sharp edge of the halls down into a deep watery pit where at the bottom sat the loot sorted for the farms. Sweeping all he needed into his inventory he curled around to swim back only to be nose to nose with abyss. He felt the water go from cold to frigid and his tail stiffend behind him leaving him to sink to his feat.

“Hi?”

**“Hello kid. How's your power coming along?”**

“It's perfect, what i needed. Although the tail won't go away and some bits like to stick around. Why O darkness do you ask?”

**“Because I need you to do something for me.” **His new boss stares at him with those distinctly white teeth and his piercing eyes. He has no ill will, it's a placating comforting smile even if it's all the wrong colors and all to wide for a normal face like Zedalphs. 

“What do you need from me? Im sea worthy but land has been truobling recently.” He knew he couldn't over step boundaries with him, he was a force of nature and to be respected.

**“The flying brat has a sting base set up far too close to my summoner homestead. It's a threat to my brother and summoner and i want it gone.”**

He growled in the back of his throat. He understood that feeling loud and clear. He had his services with or without his help making him stronger

“I have your back, what do you need me to do?” 

**“Even if you are clumsy on land all i need you to do is to meet up with a team i prepared and throw your weight around. Smash the place to the ground if you can.”**

The void gave him the run down of the area he would be ruining and told him the time and cords for where he would meet his team mates. He didn't like the idea of having to work with other shadows but he was willing to help abyss protect his family. He helped him to be able to protect his after all.

...

He glared at Apex while he leaned against a tree in the small clearing Abyss had told him to meet his team mates in. So much for teammates, more like his mortal enemy and the other one was late. He reached up to adjust his glasses frames while Apex stalked the grove back and forth like a caged animal. He was obviously looking for a fight, if he messed with him he would get one. 

“They are here.” Apex face toward one end of the area sword drawn and visor flipped down

“How do you know that hm?”

“It's not puzzler or any of his critters so it has to be our 3rd wheel.”

Out of the trees stepped Shadoc. They looked jittery and on edge as usual. Why would Abyss have him here? They had power and if he was here he was definitely stronger than before but Shadoc was never a fighter.

“Why are you here Shadoc? You aren't normally the type.”

Shadoc looked at him and pulled back his lips in the facsimile of a snarl. That's not normal at all, something is different here. Yellow fangs jutted from his jaws and his robotic claws were huge and sturdy glowing vibrant yellow. They had different markings down their sides and they looked ragged.

“Your not Shadoc of course, you would have felt similar.” Apex approached the stranger with no hesitance. The new guys leaned forward and stepped back while a huge -definitely not shadoc. Huge tail swung around in agitation and waved around for balance.

"Must be Doc's new shadow then." He had seen a bit about him while looking at Joe's communicator 

_ Doc was slain by his shadow _

It was new to see a shadow death message from Doc back in those times, their new shadow was viscous enough to take them down often. One day Joe had even flipped out and ran to docs base only to come back talking about how Doc's shadow had set him up in a spawn trap and that they had to get Doc out. karamatic punishment he presumes.

"And you are?..." Apex looks to him when he pipes up with a sour face.

"I'm your other team mate." Their voice is much stronger then Shadocs and more defined as well, his stance is aggressive and confident. Cagey and clumsy as hell though.

"A name?" He excreted some pressure with the words, a judge to test for reactions. Would he follow the pull blindly or squirm?

"A name of a monster of myth." They fired the question with a hard look. They definitely realised the threat.

"Oh hush up. We have a job to do and I am not about to watch you attempt mind games like a flailing fawn on new legs." Apex snapped at him which he returns with a sly smile and a glare

"And what? you expect me to listen to you? I thought this dynamic went the other way around?"

Apex took a step toward him with his blade flared out.

"Like hell it does. I don't listen to you."

"You did."

"Did not!"

"Did too."

There was a rumbling chuff of air and a snort as their monster stepped between them looking at apex like on would a rowdy child, serves him right and he was given the same look. Bastard.

"I see there is a sibling rivalry here but you said we have a job to do? Anybody here have a plan?"

"There are 3 shadows and 1 Puzzler in the compound. Me and The idiot are planning on an ambush when one of them leaves. Means we get the jump in an area where puzzler won't be watching us till it's too late for one of them." Apex and him had been squabbling over this plan for about an hour while they waited on their compatriot.

"What. What not just barge in and wreak the shit up then do gorilla warfare to get em outta the area?"

"We are solo fighters. Apex gets destroyed with any group battles. Isn't that so? and I'm always going to win a 1v1 match up. Best to combine that and ensure a takedown on one then get swamped by all of them." New guy was smart bit a little egotistical it seems.

"That's not that big of a deal-

"Besides you can't even stand up properly. You would go down in a fight in seconds"

The Shadoc look alike turned to look at apex with a growl

"My steadiness matters very very little with me. I don't go down."

"and what then per say lizard, how would we get past the walls?"

"Explosives. Simple really. Hook one up and walk in. You two could ambush whoever you want while I do my job."

"Our job is to get everyone out of this compound."

"That may be your jobs. Mine is to simply make sure the place is nothing but dust in my wake." Hmm Maybe his ability was similar to Shadocs? He took out the entirety of Sahara in one fell swoop. Maybe it was in Docs shadows nature to as they said ' wreck shit up '

“Hm how will you do that then? You don’t seem that capable.” If he was strong enough to do that he had to find out how

“You will know it when ya see it yeah? I'm apparently late so we shouldn't leave the pigeon waiting.”

“Set up and go then ‘wrecker’ since you said you can get us in.” Apex grins at their way in already showing past him to stand by the walls of the compound.

Monster grins at the remark and leans forward again lifting their tail off the ground and stumbling forward after Apex with their heavy set claws dragging when they shuffle. Something is definitely wrong with them for their appearance to be so dramatically different the Shadows. They turn back to them with snarling rows of teeth in a predatory grin. At least they seem to fair well with apex. He's starting to wish it really was shadoc

...

He grins giddy with the chance to go after the winged brat again, setting down a string of tnt against the back walls of the compound in similar fashion to last time. The fuse lights and the wall falls. All hell breaks through. A flash of red and Killjoy is in combat with Red. Killjoy has the upper hand and wrestles him away from the wall into proper combat through the streets. Apex is quickly met with the big asshole himself and is instantly in a race with Puzzler into the woods. A wave of creeping yellow and purple strings flares out revealing a similar situation of his best friend staring at him through twisted netting. 

_ “Hey! Let's get outta here.” He whispers to his friend while Murmur stalks circles around him. He uses his body as a blockade to keep Murmur from getting to Trip, they may or may not have just trapped mumbo a bit and gotten caught early. _

He stares at his friend who stares back. It's a stand still. The world clashing with noise but so so silent with tension you could trip on. Nobody moves. Not him, not Trip. 

_ He pulls and tears himself from the shadows. Forming into a copy and shell of his summoner. He snarls at the face in front of him _

_ “Your not shadoc.” _

_ Docm77 was slain by his shadow _

_ Next to him is another dark creature. It stands silently and they stare, sharing bits and pieces of their first living moments in silence. The darkness steps back and waits. He stands near the door. Somebody that looks like his new partner walks in and he snaps his teeth together to make a sound. They look at him in fear as they should and the darkness lunges for them from their lurking _

_ MumboJumbo was slain by his shadow _

He moves, takes a step forward and stops to regain his balance again.

“... Your different, Lev.”

“Why.”

“... Orders Lev. Just like now.”

Before he can respond he's swarmed by coils and chains of string and he can't move. He can't really think. Why why why couldn't they just be friends. What did he do to end up like this… He needed to fight. They are threatening abyss and him and his own family and he is so so tired. Maybe if he wins, maybe he can rest after and drift into the waves.

…

All in a moment, not even a second. Tripwire is no longer fighting his friend. 2 arms and 2 eyes split into 4 each. Ankles buckle dropping onto all 4. Fins reamerge bursting from tears in his coat and face and He is not in combat not with his companion any longer. But with a gargantuan forum beyond comprehension and myth. Not even a god could smite the lightning and waves incarnate that ruptures the earth before him. Before he can move he is torn from his point as Leviathan rears back yanking and tearing at his strings- it hurts, he starts splitting more and more and gathering all his wires from the surrounding chunks in render. He's thrown back again as the beast of 6 limbs drops back to the ground and shakes. To and fro he is dragged by his weird, rapidly unfurling himself from his prisoner and coiling the many bands of string into strong chords with more tensile strength. Half of his arsenal is here now with more and lured pulling back every second.

-Slam, A massive tail slams into the wall by him with 4 eyes staring into his soul with raging lighting. Pure oceans of rage and feeling. A snarling maw opens to bellow forth a scream that shakes the ground and knocks him on his back, he lashes back with 4 cords snapping at the front legs of his friend pulling at the unsteady thick limbs. A secondary pair lifts forward from under the last and yanked him forward with a strong grip. He throws himself to the ground as an unhinged jaw strikes where he was standing moments before. It pulls back with a mouth full of rubble that spills from the split lower jaw, bouncing of rows and rows of serrated teeth. 

“Holy shit…” He stands up and brings forth 2 larger cords that he burrows into the earth and uses like the vast roots of a tree. Leviathan yanks at his binds again only to be met with resistance from the new coils of wire splitting off and burrowing into the earth to lock the limbs in place. Instead of attempting again He is met with another attempt at a tail slap. He feebly raises a fourming coil to redirect it only for the elongated shark fin at the end to graze him, pushing all the air from his lungs and most definitely knocking him down a few hearts. 

“GggGgrrrrwww uuuuuuu” Leviathan rumbles at him stretching his elongated neck forward to look closer at him, and snarls when he lifts a hand to pull more coils forward. 

-pain! He hisses as the brand new coils are yanked and shredded by powerful jaws stretched to the limit to grab them. He slams more coils around their legs and dragged them further away from them. They snarl and screech at him and yanked one leg forward to slam their claws deep into the earth and take hold. 

It's a cruel game of tug of war, he pulls them away and he roars and tugs and tears at the earth to come inches closer. Finally he has his whole arsenal and the Leviathan is now on the defensive from the barrage of coils clamping down at any purchase. Pulling at fins and tangling in claws. 

_ “Hey. what can you do even? You chase your summoner around all day but how do you even catch them. They know way more than you do.” _

_ “Hah! Thats easy! He gets tired at some point no? I just keep going till he gets fed up and fights me. All I need from there is a good threat display and I can have him wherever I want him!” Lev displays this by splitting his bottom jaw at the seam and unhinging the two parts of the jaw to reveal an incredibly threatening splay of teeth. _

The current leviathan stops in his binds and looks at him with pain in his eyes. Then it floods into anger again but this time it's accompanied by tears. They growl at him from his torn up war zone and then screeches in fury, and pain.

-pain, something snapped. He looks to see where and stumbles at the sight of leviathan tearing at their bonds leaving scratches along their primary legs while the secondary scrabble at the coils snap snap snapping them.

…

He clashes again with the rustic devil in front of him. He had dealt quickly with Red. He had been confronted with the upset Russy in one of the buildings he was sweeping for intel. They had a sheen of tears in their eyes and their horns had been shown instantly the moment he was noticed.

“Hey now Rus, why are you even fighting this fight. Thought you the automaton and the Jester hated Puzzler.” This had been the back and forth, he would say something. Rustic house would lunge and he would side step it to call back again. A test of resolve with some pokes and prods, incentive to listen.

“I needed him to fix them!!!” Rus snaps and the teeth are shown again with a lash of the tail and suddenly it all halts, they deflate on themselves and seem to lose their resolve

Good that's what he was hoping for. No need to hurt somebody with no real allegiance.

…

The wall is absolutely destroyed. Their battle had lead into the start of streets and they are currently at the first of 3 towers. He had been ducking in and out of buildings as they collapsed around him. Clawed limbs slamming through supports toppling walls stop him as he desperately tried to split new strings. Leviathan had caught him off guard after tearing himself free with new yellow tears in them. A single lunge and he had pulled his support coils from the earth and snapped them all in a fell claw sweep.

-Crunch, crrrrhhhhkk He dashes out from one of the towers bridges into a neighboring building with his strings chasing after him. Behind him and smaller arm lunged forward to grab the bridge as the leviathan propped against the building to lunge at him. 

He was trapped, between him and Lev was only the time it took him to duck around a corner. Maybe he wouldn't see him but he was too exhausted to keep running. He would either wait out this destruction or be found and killed. He deserved it after what he did. He had snuck near Doc's base after their last fight and used his invisible strings to feel out the area… He had ruined his friend, absolutely demolished his friendship and said friends body. He doubts Leviathan would ever see him again without going for the throat like he used to with the Doctor.

-Stomp stomp clank stomp stomp clank. A heavy body lumbered down the street next to him, it was now or never. 2 Bright yellow eyes passed by the alley and flckered around, barely missing his hiding spot. The head lifted and they took a step forward before stopping minutely. The building was coming down next to him and Leviathans head snapped back to the building to see him scooch away from the cracking walls. Dammit.

...

His vision blurs slightly as he focuses all his eyes onto trip. He can see him wherever he goes now. No more running, he was gonna face the monster he and red had made of him. He was no beast However. He brings himself low low lower to the ground. Supporting himself with his smaller legs while he reached his larger ones forward to rest on the ground on each side of his victim, effectively trapping Trip between the two massive limbs. He fully settles on the ground so he can get eye level with him. He wishes for a moment that he could speak. Ask why things were like this. Why they weren't in his alcove talking about traps for his base and pranking their summoners. His vocal cords did not cooperate and only a gurgle was let forth. 

“Kill me already then.” Trip looks at him like one would a misbehaved child. He snorted, he was no child. He moved his maw to set right in front of his friend, he would wait.

“I cant run.” He hissed at him and huffed hot air in his face, he needed to shut up and realise why he was here.

“Kill me already dammit you strong enough to do so before I could blink… Don't be a coward.” He growled, he is no coward and he knows that better than anyone. If his friend wouldn't get the point he would show him. He pushes himself up and snaps up Tripwire from the back of his suit collar. Using his jaw split to clasp even tighter. He wasn't leaving his grip unless he let him go. 

“What the fuck are you doing!? You missed ass hole!” Taunts wouldn't work, he had grieved enough and these jabs weren't near his heart. He starts to search in buildings and let loose resounding warbles that would alert who he needed without disrupting his friend. 

He ignores the protests and keeps up his search. Finally he gets what he wants when a dark haired head pops out the 4th story window of the main tower. A yellow frame of glasses stares at him in irritation.

“Hey monster! What the hell are you doing with that?” Killjoys question is left unanswered as he rubs his side against the tower and lifts himself up to meet Killjoys gaze. They needed to leave before he could finish this. In the room by their feet was another shadow sporting a small pair of horns and a twitching devil tail. Another one of Puzzlers lackys perhaps. He slowly motioned with his head for his companion to move, Trip getting swung to the side with the movement.

Killjoy obliged with a questioning look. He took a moment to use his smaller arms to reach through the window and grab the other shadow in these arms more dexterous grip, his pseudo thumb clasping to keep them secure when he pulled them out the window. They struggled as well but they seemed even more exhausted and out of it then Trip. 

“Why? Are you taking prisoners now? I thought you were just gonna pummel this place.” He rolled his eyes even if it wouldn't be noticed. He bucked his jaw a bit and motioned out the building.

“I gotta go then? That what ya want?” He snorts in response and pushes his snout to the ledge of the window.

“What are you doing?” no response other than his beady eyes staring at his partner like an idiot.

“No way in hell am I letting you carry me. You could barely walk when you joined us here.” He growled softly but didn't budge.

“For fucks sake. Your horrible and I hate you.” Killjoy stepped onto the window sill and stepped onto his muzzle and moved to his mane with perfect balenmce of somebody who had practiced some dumb stunts in their life.

“If i fall i will find you and make you wish you were never summoned.”

…

After he reached the edge of the city he let Killjoy slide of his head and he set the shadow name Rustic House down to stand beside him. Apparently they had no place in these fights. Finally he sighed as Killjoy reached out to grab Trip from him, he yanked his head out of reach of the shadow. He dropped Trip a few meters from them instead and nudged him into a run. He wouldn't let Killjoy do with him whatever he was hoping for.

In the commotion of Killjoy trying to grab for Trip while also keeping an eye on Russy he turned and started limping back into the compound. He had to level this place.

…

The Hermits were in a panic. Zedalph had spotted something enormous, bigger than the end dragon and a temper to boot. It was running around a compound by his base and he had seen it from kilometers away. They were making an emergency squad of as many hermits around along with any friendly shadows. Wels and Paladin, False and iskall, Chill and Killshot, Shadoc and Doc, False and Fractal, Ren solo and a few other miscellaneous Hermits were running out toward the base. They could see something vaguely in the distance pushing over towers. It was moving toward a giant spire of obsidian, The thing had to be at least 50 blocks or bigger. It stood on its back legs and slammed its 4 front legs into the spire knocking a hole through pure obsidian and collapsing the top of the tower. It pushed forward and the entire tower crushed under the stress. They were only 100 blocks out now. It was a forest surrounding most of it with planes flanking their approach. 

4 large eyes snapped to look at them with their weapons drawn. It snarled and reared back. It stopped though when Doc and Shadoc started to hiss softly in their stress at the situation. Doc more of a snarl while Shadoc trembled where he stood trident at the ready. The beast yelped and spun around and started to sprint clumsily through rubble charging through any building that may lay in their path. They gave chase. If it had caused this much destruction in the time it was witnessed then it was a threat to their entire way of life. The small town looked as if it was struck with a hurricane and a tsunami mixed into one super calamity


	6. Tides (Epilouge)

They sprint after in pursuit, it stumbles constantly and trips over itself keening into the air as it topples and stubles into a gallop again. The shadows pull ahead of their tiring Summoners and continue in their dead sprint. The beast stumbles again and its wounds drag through the dirt as it shoves itself forward again desperately. The ocean was fast approaching and with the crashing of waves the beast was invisible amongst the dark seas. They waited on the border. This was obviously its domain and they dare not enter without backup. Said backup arrives in the form of the hermits and 2 more shadows. Joyful and Distress. Joyfull is scribbling frantically in his book while Distress hefts their scythe over their shoulder.

“What are we gonna do dudes? This doesn't look good.” Red stood in front of his shadow looking perturbed by the rough waves.

“That naughty thing can definitely out swim us.” Stress pointed at the obvious lack of monster.

“Well it may not be able to out last us shadows.” Solo stepped forward, a little braver.

“Are yall dumb?” Distress looks at them oddly before walking into the ocean unphased.

“Wait no- Dis thats a bad idea!!” Stress runs to the edge of the water but stops when her boots start to freeze the edge of the water

The other shadows look to one another and shrug following the brazen shadow into the black depths. They reached down after their leader and stretched far far far down after the billowing gravel of their target. Looks as if they are circling the area, the water moves like a whirlwind picking up soot and rocks clearing showing where it had sawm through. Shadoc follows after the dancing of darkness following the procession of his fellows. He was hoping it wouldn't come to a fight but with their track record that will probably be the case. 

A tail swings over head and the shallow yellow glow of a fin is seen as their beast is found in full picture seeming to be struggling with itself over some unknown force of nature or beyond. Distress stands before them their scythe on the ground as they stare at the thrashing monstrosity of limbs and fins.

Paladin flattens himself and speeds toward them going to strike the straining smaller leg but watching it dink of the thick scales throwing his balance and leaving him momentarily falling in the water before he retreats. Distress looks at the beast and looks confused and slightly strained before going for a swipe with their scythe which the beast slaps away with a thundering rumble. Shadoc steps forward with a hiss releasing bubbles into the water as they left their trident  _ processor _ forward. Kill Shot glasses and drags a sword from his inventory as his bow will be of no use in the torrent of water. Chill sees their ice block drift away and clenches their fist ready to beat the tide. Fractal is prepared to fight with all they have. Solo hefts an axe to the ready while Joyful watching in fear with ink dispersing from his quill.

...

He tries to get away, he has to get out of here. If he could just get home he could take time to shift but he isn't practiced yet. He slaps his tail to ward off Distress and listens as she echoes into his mind only to find the ocean screaming back at her. He tries to launch himself into the depths only for his claws to slip uselessly in the gravel and his mind to yanked him back into fight or flight. He is losing track of his thoughts and he just wants it to be quiet between the rage of the masses and the thunder in his ocean. 

He sees a flash and paws away from the scythe aiming to his legs. He has to dodge that else he may be a goner. He rumbles and snarls at Distress who looks at them miffed by the echoing storm in his mind. He hears a hiss and snaps his head to see his brother crouched in the gravel slowly raising his trident. He is keen and turns to run again when a blade digs deep into the wounds on his forelegs. He strikes for his attacker only for Killshot to flatten and doge leaving his sword in his leg. It burns in a familiar way and he is spiraling through thoughts of his friend with the searing pain in his chest- leg, in his leg. His ocean rages up and light and power flows through him stronger than before. His markings flare up into a radioactive yellow glow that could outshine any glowstone. His founds spilling light as he flares his fins to look even bigger. He lets loose a reverberating screech snapping his jaw and stretching it wide to act as a threat display. His tail lashes from behind him flashing blinding stripes at the faces of his friends in an attempt to distract from his hesitancy.

“You can hit the wounds on the arms. You can also most likely get through those lashes on the neck and back!” Solo points out the claw marks on his fore limbs and he gestures at the plethora of rope wounds from his struggle with his Trap buddy. 

Before he can hide his weakness he has a trident in his neck and he can feel the sparking of the channeling enchant given to processor sizzle through his scales and light up the laceration from being yanked around fizzle in agony. He whines but tanks the hit from his brother and winces as the trident tears free and flies back to his mirror. 

Chill is grabbing their friends sword free from his skin before he can get over the pain in his neck and he tries to get them to back off with a ground shaking warble the resonates in the water enough to burst ear drums. As shadows have no ear drums they are un affected other than the tremors. He panics. Swim.

He pushes himself up into the water where they can't reach him. They can try but the terror will keep them ground locked. His head rises out of the water and he turns out to sea only for a piercing feeling in his leg as a trident is once more lanced into his body with its loyalty line pulling on him tearing the trident away again. He turns around only for an arrow to fly and strike through his fin as Iskall snipes pot shots at him from shore. It doesn't hurt but he won't be able to turn back if he has to many arrows in his fins. He will have to remove them first.

Another strike from the trident and all his wounds are screaming at him with the fizzling lightning and the sizzling from the fire aspect. He tries to swim away again only for something in the back of his mind rear up and demand that he stays. His body locks up and he can't move to leave, all he wants is to run run run. His thoughts consumed by the need to flee but the wrongness of doing such and he slowly drifts back toward the sea floor where an army awaits. He is exhausted to stop them when he hits the ground. Suddenly the burn of a fire aspect blade is less of a reminder and more of a dull tune. He just wants to leave… He can't leave. He tips his dreary head to stare at Shadoc as he rears back the trident again. He warbles sadly and lets his head lay limp in the biting gravel. At least if he dies here he should get resummoned in his other form right? He decides to go out making sure nobodys afraid. He opens his maw as an axe bites into his side and tries to imitate the notes of a melody. It was a simple tune he would hum back when Shadoc would stay near his redstone. He would use it to help console him and help his counting. He wish Shadoc had told him about what happened to him sooner. He distances himself from the here and now.

...

“S-Stop.” He calls to Killshot who war readying to stab at the monsters exposed neck… Maybe not a monster.

“Why? Its given up we can be rid of it now?” Fractal looks up from her approach on their adversary

“I-Its humming.” He knows the tune. It's one Leviathan would hunk softly in the seas of 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4.

“So what? It destroyed an entire base in maybe hours!” His heart hurt. He had done worse in moments…

“I mean i- Its a song i know… Look. Its black and yellow like us, its bleeding the same as we do a-an-and. It's got a jaw like him…”

“Like wh- oh oh no.” Fractal grabs killshot who just looks confused and looks and the warbling pile of scales and muscle… The lower jaw has a small line that separates the left and right sides of the jaw into two parts that move independently with skin between. Shadoc and the other two creeper like creatures could do the same. A singing reptile beast that hadn't hurt a single one of them when it could easily bite them in half. A shadow like monster.

“Is. Is it leviathan?”

Shadoc had yellow tears flowing into the dark water around him hand to his mouth trying to hold back sobs, he nodded trying to wipe tears away hiccuping on tears. Leviathan had been missing for nearly a month after he went for a stroll and Admin hasn't found a death log for him. They thought he was whisked away but here he was broken because of them. He had hurt them. He had hurt his home and not taken a thought about it.

…

He isn't in the shadowlands or temple when he pulls himself from his mind. Instead four eyes open to see the surface of the water and a glinting moon. Why, he flicks his eyes to get a sense of his situation only to see a herd of shadows flickering back and forth in the darkness trying to tend to his wounds. He rumbles his vision blurring. When it clears Shadoc is lying on his jaw to look him in the eye. Their face is raw from tears and he chirps at them like one of the vex would. The only reassuring sound in his vocabulary. He pushed as much reassurance into it as he could. Looks like for once his songs have saved him.

The rest of the shadows are by his face in moments all talking over one another. He shakes his head his mane swishing and fin flicking back. He rumbled at them, he can't understand them when they all talk. Maybe he could hear them better on land. He wants to see land. He starts to stand only for them to try and hold him down, he wants to see the land. He huffed at them and pushes past their attempts and limps onto all his legs desperate for the extra support in his weary limbs. He starts to move to shore with the gaggle of shadows flickering after him and shouting at deaf ears.

…

Doc snarls as a large reptilian head rises out of the water with a dorsal fin soon to follow. He was hoping for the shadows to handle it but something must have happened for them to stop. They had seen it hours ago raise from the water and Iskall had gotten a shot in before it dove back down. He hopes the shadows were not lost in the currents. Iskall knocked and arrow and let loose the arrow landing in one of the fins on the side of its face. It shook its head and kept moving forward toward them in a trance. The second arrow volley missed, falling into the ocean depths. Doc threw his trident in tandem and grinned when it sunk into its chest and it flinched but kept walking. Not moments later a shadow launched out of the waves and Shadoc was waving at them frantically.

“N-n-no! Don't fire!!!” Shadoc hollered at them and suddenly all the shadows were rising out of the water and pushing their hermits out of the way of the lumbering beast that was slowly lifting out of the water revealing glowing yellow wounds and patterns along with corded muscle and tough dark scales.

“Doc dont you dare throw that trident.” Solo brandished his axe as he nudged Joyful toward Iskall.

“What's going on?” Doc put his trident into his inventory as the lumbering giant took its first steps onto shore and the earth shook knocking hermits to the ground when it threw itself into the sands dragging along the ground and settling with its eyes flickering close emanating rumbles from its chest.

“That's leviathan, we don't know why or how but it was singing and they would attack us.” Solo followed after Shadoc who had scampered to Leviathans side to check if it had disturbed their wounds in the sand.

The hermits were left stunned into silence. Leviathan wouldn't move and just laid in wait. Suddenly tier patterns burst and waves across their skin warping and dancing around in a light show before settling again in a snapping burst. It started again and the markings struggled to take over Leviathans forum like crashing waves. Blacks became yellow and yellows became blacks and everything shifted around in the light and the small legs conjoined with the larger pair and everything was shrinking and expanding. A few seconds after everything shrunk and yellow draws back into blacks and reveals Levia laying on the ground with a tail splayed out behind them and a large fin bursting from his coat. The fin folded and settled along his back.

Doc follows after solo and stop a few feet away from his boys. Leviathan has lacerations around his neck and his arms are torn up but he could be worse for wear. Leviathans eyes snap open again and he sighs breathing in unneeded air and sifting sand through his large claws. He looks Doc in the eye and sighs.

“Will I ever see you when i'm not fucked up.”

“Not with your current track record no. Where the hell have you been?”

“Base building then base destroying.” Shadoc leans down and lifts leviathan up from under his arms and props him up when he almost trips on his tail. Shadoc is hugging onto him and solo is helping prop him up as well. Doc shakes his head and ruffles his shadows hair who in turn swats at him.

“Why were you base destroying? That place was right by my house.” Zed walked over and leviathan looked at him confused before recognition set in, he hadn't met Zed before.

“It belonged to puzzler and they were up to no good or smth. I got called in to help get it cleared… Im tired can we not talk about it?”

Zedalph pushes a little more but gives up when Shadoc starts to shuffle anxiously.

…

“This is I”

“Like eyeballs? I have those.”

“N-no like, like the letter I.” Shadoc was in a corner wheezing trying to show leviathan a child's alphabet book.

“That makes no sense why is it called Eye if it's not about Eyes?”

“That's how letters work kiddo, they make no sense till they do.” Doc pipes up from a chair in one of Shadows living areas. A cozy fire was crackling in the background.

“No no but why?”

“L-Leviathhhhh hahaha.” Shadoc leaned into his brothers shoulder near crying pointing at the letter eye in the book.

“What?!! All i get is this things is I but not Eye and nothing makes sense!?”

...

He stumbles around Doc's lab with Shadoc at his side helping him balance. He had to practice moving on land better again and it was a struggle. They were on their way out from his practice and he took a step toward the stairs before his foot caught on his tail that had swung around and suddenly he was tumbling head over tail down the stairs. A loud resounding slap as his face met tile.

“Pfffdfdttttt ahhahahhahah” Shadoc ran down the stairs after his slinky like decent and he jumped the last few steps to come help him up

“Show off…”

…

He Settles by the water in his base, he had brought Shadoc with him and they were sitting in a confined up glass dome of air. He needed the air to properly sing songs and banter with his brother

“I am the eye of the storm. Inside, I am silent and strong. Just waiting for the right moment to strike. Coiled like a cobra. I am the eye of the storm. Wind wind howling in my face, tearing up the asphalt, Imma getting up in the place, run run nowhere left to hide, I must take a stand now. Find the strength inside! Wel-come to the vortex, absolute ground zero of my heart, pinnacle of the apex, nothin's gonna tear my soul apart!” Bellowing songs tear and bounce off the wall while Shadoc smiles at his brothers new found e energy

All is well

A red eye gleams and drips in the shadow of a burnt out alcove, chains hanging from collapsed rocks and destroyed machinery laying around. It sharpens and the figure glares into the sea and retreats into the blood like trails of the ruins.


End file.
